Post-construction cleaning cost
Published rates cover one phase of cleaning. Most finished buildings need three. Here is what each phase costs, what the full stack costs at each building size, and which extras are billed separately.
The figure quoted almost everywhere is $0.15 to $0.60 per square foot for interior post-construction cleaning. It is an accurate national range, and it is also the reason so many quotes come back higher than people expect.
That range describes one pass. Construction cleaning is normally sold as up to three separate passes, priced separately, and a contractor quoting a full scope is quoting the sum of them.
Source: HomeGuide, Post-Construction Cleaning Rates, updated December 2025
What each phase costs
The three interior phases are priced per square foot. Exterior work is normally a flat job price rather than a rate.
| Phase | Published rate | When it happens |
|---|---|---|
| Rough interior clean | $0.15 to $0.40 per sq ft | Once the heavy trades are out and debris needs clearing |
| Standard interior clean | $0.20 to $0.60 per sq ft | Before handover, once fixtures and finishes are installed |
| Touch-up clean | $0.20 to $0.60 per sq ft | After snagging and final inspection, immediately before occupancy |
| Exterior clean | $125 to $800 or more | Flat job price, not a per-square-foot rate |
Rates are national ranges. Regional labor costs move them materially in either direction.
Source: HomeGuide, Post-Construction Cleaning Rates, updated December 2025
What the full three-phase stack costs
Add the three interior phases at their published low ends and you get $0.55 per square foot. Add them at their high ends and you get $1.60. That spread, not the single-phase figure, is the number to budget against on a new build.
The table below is our own arithmetic on the published rates above. The middle column is what a single final clean costs. The right column is what all three phases cost. On any building above roughly 5,000 square feet, the gap between them is larger than most people's entire cleaning budget.
| Building size | Final clean only | All three phases |
|---|---|---|
| 2,000 sq ft | $400 to $1,200 | $1,100 to $3,200 |
| 5,000 sq ft | $1,000 to $3,000 | $2,750 to $8,000 |
| 10,000 sq ft | $2,000 to $6,000 | $5,500 to $16,000 |
| 25,000 sq ft | $5,000 to $15,000 | $13,750 to $40,000 |
| 50,000 sq ft | $10,000 to $30,000 | $27,500 to $80,000 |
Our derivation: published per-phase rates multiplied by floor area. Interior cleaning only, before the separately billed items below.
Source: Derived from published rates in HomeGuide, Post-Construction Cleaning Rates, updated December 2025
What is usually billed on top
These are quoted as separate line items on most jobs. A cleaning price that looks unusually low is often a per-square-foot rate with all of them excluded.
| Item | Published cost |
|---|---|
| Construction debris removal | $300 to $1,000 |
| Junk removal, half truckload | $300 to $600 |
| Junk removal, full truckload | $600 to $1,000 |
| HVAC duct cleaning | $200 to $1,000 |
| Window cleaning | $150 to $370 |
| Floor stripping and waxing | $0.50 to $3.00 per sq ft |
| Carpet cleaning | $40 to $90 per room |
| Pressure washing | $170 to $360 |
Floor stripping and waxing is worth checking closely. At the top of its range it costs more per square foot than all three cleaning phases combined.
Source: HomeGuide, Post-Construction Cleaning Rates, updated December 2025
The one question that resolves most quote differences
When two quotes are far apart, the usual cause is not labor rates. It is that one covers a single final clean and the other covers rough, final and touch-up, or that one includes debris haulage and duct cleaning and the other does not.
Ask each contractor to state, in writing, which of the three phases the price covers and which of the separately billed items are included. Two comparable quotes are usually within a normal regional spread of each other once the scope is matched.